The world just lost one of the greatest freedom fighters not
just in the history of Honduras but in the whole world. The voice of Berta
Cáceres was, is and always will be a voice that inspires tenacity, love for the
people, and hope. Berta always used her voice to amplify the voices of others,
of the downtrodden, of the poor, of the Lenca people, of all indigenous and
afro-descendant peoples, of women, of the LGBT community, of workers and
peasants, of the exploited, of the youth, of the people in resistance, of all
of us who dream of a more just world.

We share in the depths of our soul the immense pain felt by
our Honduran comrades from COPINH, by Berta’s beautiful and resilient family,
and by everyone who had the great privilege of meeting her at one time or
another. Berta touched hearts around the world. In every corner of this planet
earth, the planet that she defended with all of her energy and finally with her
life itself, the example, the voice, the memory, the inspiration, the
teachings, the love of Berta Cáceres are present today and always.

As La Voz de los de Abajo, an international human rights
organization based in Chicago and with more than 15 years of history
accompanying Honduran social movements, we hold responsible the government of
Honduras, the government of the United States, and the DESA corporation and its
financial backers for Berta’s murder.

The Honduran government is responsible for its unwillingness
to investigate the constant death threats against Berta, for its indifference regarding
the protective measures extended to Berta by the Inter-American Human Rights
Commission, for its participation in the campaign of defamation and character assassination
carried out against Berta in the Honduran press, and for its collaboration with
and support for the DESA corporation and its nefarious project of building a
hydroelectric dam on the Gualcarque River despite the opposition of the
indigenous Lenca communities. We are direct witnesses to that collaboration,
having seen with our own eyes the tremendous presence of the Honduran army and
its closeness and collaboration with DESA’s private security in the Río Blanco
community.

The U.S. government is responsible for its continued
financing of the Honduran army, for its long and criminal history of training
Honduran military assassins at the School of the Americas, for its essential
role in financing, defending and assuring the consolidation of the coup d’état
in Honduras and the environment of repression and impunity that it ushered in.

The DESA corporation and its financial backers are undoubtedly
responsible for the assassination itself. Its employees have said shamelessly
and on numerous occasions that they would kill Berta for her leadership in the
struggle against the environmental and cultural destruction represented by the
building of the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam in Río Blanco.

Berta will live not just in the hearts but in the actions of
all the peoples in resistance around the world and especially in her beloved
Honduras and her beloved Lenca indigenous community. If the powerful and evil
think that by killing Berta they can end the struggle of the Lenca people, they
are terribly mistaken. Her
voice will multiply. Her example will multiply. Her inspiration will
multiply. She sowed thousands of seeds with her persistence, with her laughter,
with her tenacity, with her hope, with her vision of a world free from
patriarchy, capitalist exploitation and racism, with her dream of a liberated
world, with her profound faith in the inevitable triumph of the people’s
struggle. The struggle will deepen, international solidarity will deepen, the
wave of indignation will deepen, the determination and dedication of the Lenca
people, of the Honduran resistance and of the people of the world who accompany
them will deepen.

We will be releasing information on next steps for
demonstrating International solidarity very soon.